As state financing for higher education dwindles, ShorelineCommunity College has recently qualified to compete for new and significant federal funding.

The details may sound dry, but a waiver that makes the school and students eligible for the Title III program through the U.S. Department of Education Office of Postsecondary Education has college administrators smiling.

“Title III eligibility is a big deal, a really big deal,” said Vice President for Student Success Tonya Drake. “We can now apply for grants that would bring up to hundreds of thousands of dollars every year.”

Title III is aimed primarily at financial assistance for low-income students and immigrant and refugee populations, said Drake, who co-wrote the waiver application with Kenny Lawson, Dean of Business/Intra-American Studies & Social Sciences.

“The college is now in a position to expand our capacity to serve low-income students – and we have five years to take advantage of this funding opportunity,” Drake said.

While Title III funding has specific purposes, the impact will be felt across the college. The school already provides financial support for low-income, immigrant and refugee students, but now with Title III, those college funds can be used elsewhere to help other students and programs, Drake said.

It also means that over the next five years, Shoreline is eligible for applying for grants that have the potential to provide up to $1.8 million to $2 million in support.

Title III can help colleges develop new programs for self-sufficiency and expand services. It is meant to improve and strengthen academic quality, institutional management and fiscal stability.The funds can be used for planning, program development, faculty development and establishing endowment funds.Other projects include joint use of instructional facilities, construction and maintenance and student services.

With the waiver now in place, the college intends to go after a grant under the “Strengthening Institutions” criteria. A group including Drake, Lawson, Vice President for Academic Affairs John Backes and Advising/Counseling Director Yvonne Terrell-Powell have started the ball rolling, meeting several times to talk about grant-request specifics.

“We have some initial ideas about how we can better link learning in and out of the classroom to better support our diverse student population,” Lawson said.“We still have a long way to go in terms of developing our strategy, and we look forward to working with the campus to define ways to strengthen our service and support to low income students.”

They will invite more faculty and staff to work with them during Spring Quarter.

TheInstitutional Development and Undergraduate Education Service administers programs funded under Title III. Funding is focused on institutions that enroll large proportions of minority and financially disadvantaged students with low per-student expenditures. The programs provide financial assistance to help institutions solve problems that threaten their ability to survive, to improve their management and fiscal operations, and to build endowments.

SCC/Donna Myers

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Thursday, March 25, 2010

SCC one of 10 best for I-BEST

ShorelineCommunity College will receive an $80,000 grant to help more students move into high paying automotive-industry jobs.

“This enables more students to get the support they need for the training they want,” said Bill Sperling, Director of Adult Basic Education and English as a Second Language at the college.

Sperling oversees the school’s I-BEST programs, or Integrated Basic Education Skills Training. I-BEST programs combine skills training with academic and language support, literally putting a second instructor in the room. The grant money is targeted at students in one of the five I-BEST programs, General Service Technician, which is tied to SCC’s award-winning automotive technician training program.

“We submitted a proposal … to increase the transition rate of students from an existing I-BEST program into a degree granting program at the other end of the pathway,” Sperling said. “Shoreline’s proposal linked our automotive General Service Technician (GST) program and our factory-sponsored automotive training programs.”

The ProfessionalAutomotiveTrainingCenter at ShorelineCommunity College partners with the Puget Sound Auto Dealers Association along with Toyota, Honda, GM and Chrysler to educate and train technicians. Students work in dealerships as part of the program, virtually guaranteeing 100 percent job placement. SCC’s program also provides ongoing training for technicians with those four manufacturers plus Hyundai, Volvo and Hunter Industries, which builds alignment and other equipment. A new partner for the program is Snap-on Tools, which is establishing an “InnovationCenter” at Shoreline.

The I-BEST grant application was done in conjunction with the Workforce Development Council of Seattle-King County. “This work really builds on our partnership efforts,” said Peter Cavanaugh, WDC project manager.

“Now, of course, the hard work begins,” Sperling said. “We proposed to increase the number of GST students who subsequently enroll in one of the factory-sponsored programs from around 25 percent to 50 percent or roughly doubling the current number. The task is huge, given the barriers that many GST students face.”

The grant is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and administered by the State Board of Community and TechnicalColleges. Shoreline’s grant is one of 10 awarded in the state for the 2010-11 academic year. The award is for the next fiscal year, starting July 1, with the possibility of a second year at $80,000, based on performance.

SCC/Jim Hills

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Wednesday, March 24, 2010

* Chung Nga (Carol) Moy receives national scholarship

Last fall, transfer student Carol Moy was named to the Phi Theta Kappa All-Washington Academic Team. Only two students are selected from each of the state’s 34 community colleges to be recognized and honored by the international honor society for two-year colleges for their academic successes as well as their leadership accomplishments and community contributions.Moy has also been designated a Gold Scholar by the Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation.Only 50 students across the country earn this designation along with $1,500.

At 18, Chung Nga (Carol) Moy already knows what she wants to do with her life – and she’s off to a good start.

The petite, quiet-spoken woman came a long way to get her transfer degree at ShorelineCommunity College – 6,499 miles to be exact.Her father wanted her to study and work in the United States believing she would have better career opportunities here than at home,” said Moy, who was born and raised in Hong Kong.She had planned to study someplace in the U.S. as an exchange student, but about the time she was filling out the paperwork, her father learned that they had received the green light to immigrate.“Everything changed because now we were going to be immigrants,” Moy said.“Now, I couldn’t be an exchange student.”

It all happened so quickly that the then-16 year-old says it was all a blur.Her father set up an appointment for them to talk to an educational agent about enrolling Carol in an American college. It was the agent who strongly suggested Shoreline.Moy thought Shoreline sounded like the right place; small classes, one-on-one time with instructors, diverse student body.

In August of 2008, she and her brother came to the U.S.Carol moved in with a home-stay family in Shoreline while her brother moved to Alaska, where he had been an exchange student a few years earlier.Their father, hoping to find work himself as a quality control auditor, was forced to return to Hong Kong shortly afterward due to the tight labor market .

In September,2008, Carol found herself on her own, beginning her college education at ShorelineCommunity College.Her English was “so-so,” after studying at an English language school in Hong Kong for five years.But the language wasn’t the biggest challenge.

“I need a lot of time to warm up,” Moy said of her shyness.She spent her first year at Shoreline focusing only on her studies, waiting to feel more comfortable before joining clubs and getting involved in college activities.As part of a campus-based research project in Prof. Tim Payne’s microeconomics class, Moy worked with team members on a project to calculate the college’s carbon footprint.The 10-week quarter didn’t allow time for completion of the project and when Payne asked if she would be interested in continuing the research and documentation even without credit, she was eager to do so.

“This was no easy task and Carol took it on in a most professional manner,” Payne said. The work involved gathering data from several college offices, developing a work plan, collaboration and delegation of tasks among the team, entering data into a spreadsheet and, in the end, drawing conclusions and making recommendations to the college on ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Finishing the project, bolstered her confidence.She joined other students as part of a planning subcommittee for a hunger banquet this past spring.The event was well attended, with community members joining students, faculty and staff.Seeing that kind of participation was inspiring to Moy.Soon afterward, she began getting involved in other college activities and events.

She helped organize two food drives for a local food bank, then started helping tutor ESL students as she could empathize with the unique challenges they faced.Moy also volunteered as a classroom assistant in the GED math class.She also volunteers as a volunteer for the American Red Cross in King and Kitsap counties.

This past fall quarter, Moy joined the business club, DECA (Delta Epsilon Chi).She has done very well in the marketing, management and business college organization, taking second place in a statewide competition in which she had to analyze a human resources problem and come up with a solution.Many of these challenges are done by two to three students, but Moy took this one on her own.

“I really give honor to my teacher, David Starr,” she said of the accomplishment, also giving credit to Laura Portolese-Diaz, Stephen McCloskey and Mona Starr. “They all give me good advice.”

Moy also helps fellow students with preparation of the Federal Student Aid applications, working with college staff member Michael Boehm

Not long after coming to Shoreline, Moy took on a work-study position as an office assistant for the Basic Food Employment and Training Program.“I didn’t want to be too big a financial burden on my family,” she said.

Boehm, training coordinator for the program, is impressed with her quick understanding of processes and hard work.“Carol has greatly contributed to the overall success of multiple programs,” he said.Boehm says that Moy’s work integrating college and Department of Social and Health Services databases into a communication tool for the Financial Aid Department has proven to be effective in making workforce education more efficient.

Moy is taking keen interest in highly controversial issues such as abortion rights.Coming from a country that holds a strict policy on abortion, she decided that volunteering at an agency that supports pro-choice would provide her the opportunity to hear both sides.“We don’t talk about this at home,” she said.

Moy has already been accepted to the business schools at Indiana University- Bloomington, OhioStateUniversity, Purdue and the University of Iowa.She is holding out for her dream college, however, the University of Wisconsin.She plans to earn a business degree with a double major – business and environmental science.She would like to work as a managerial consultant in the field of sustainability.“I want to help companies become more sustainable,” she said.

The shy side of Moy is still evident. She wouldn’t think of boasting of her accomplishments and hasn’t told her parents about the Phi Theta Kappa award.She is planning on sending them a letter with a photo of her receiving her award from Gov. Gregoire.

Donna Myers/PIO

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* Ava Munson receives national honor

“We serve life not because it is broken but because it is holy.”

The words of Mother Teresa had deeply resonated with Ava Munson, who had been searching for the answer of how she could best meet the needs of people in a world of great complexity and diversity.“My life’s journey has led me to believe that I must first see this world as a beautiful place and that my service springs out of the desire to become a part of its wholeness.I share a commonality with all humankind - my service is a return for the goodness others offer me.”

“Choosing Shoreline was a vitally important decision in my life, as it symbolized a directional shift in my educational pathway and opened doors to a new way of thinking and a new identity for myself.”

The Path

When Ava Munson arrived at ShorelineCommunity College in the fall of 2008, she knew she wanted more than access to an education and a high GPA. She wanted access to new ideas and varied perspectives.She wanted an environment in which she could learn more about herself and to establish a stronger personal identify.

The honors

Last fall, Ava Munson was named to the Phi Theta Kappa All-Washington Academic Team. Only two students are selected from each of the state’s 34 community colleges to be recognized and honored by the international honor society for two-year colleges for their academic successes as well as their leadership accomplishments and community contributions.Now, with spring just around the corner, Munson has received another academic award.

In early March, SCC President Lee Lambert informed Munson that she has now been named a New Century Scholar by Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society.

“This is a real accomplishment and she really deserves this,” Lambert said. “ It is a real testament to her hard work and commitment to her education.”

Munson is the first Shoreline PTK scholar to be named a New Century Scholar, receiving the highest score in the 63 All-Washington applications.

The New Century Scholar Award brings a $2,000 scholarship from the Coca Cola Scholars Foundation and the Coca Cola Foundation.

“I came here with a lot of questions,” Munson said, “about myself.”Her parents had chosen a home-education route for Munson and her three siblings.“I was taught to challenge the prevalent ideas of our time.”

Like many children, she didn't always share her parents perspective, but she recognized that they provided for her a background for critical thinking.What she wanted to experience now was freedom to look at new ways and to find mentors who could help identify educational goals.

“Choosing ShorelineCommunity College was a vitally important decision in my life as it symbolized a directional shift in my educational pathway and opened doors to a new way of thinking and a new identity for myself,” Munson said.

Munson felt a surge of freedom and an opportunity to grow.She found instructors who fostered her already keen critical-thinking skills and encouraged her to explore all options.The conversations she had with her professors and other students invigorated her thirst for new perspectives and allowed her to explore educational and career goals.

Munson found the mentorship she sought in Dean Kenneth Lawson. “He was the first person to help me to believe in myself,” Munson said, “to help me believe I could pursue my dreams.”She found additional support from Prof. Bob Francis.

Munson found herself excelling in her international studies and political science classes at Shoreline.Talking about the critical issues that confront people around the world cemented the fact that she was on the right track – helping to promote socially just practices.

Although she always knew she would choose a life of service, Munson began to envision herself working internationally as an advocate for the underprivileged.Her studies in globalization, development, international law and human rights further defined her pathway.

She understood the importance and value of community service at a young age. Growing up in a close-knit family committed to helping others, she began her foray into community service by taking her pet bunnies to nursing-home residents as an emotional lift. She and her family developed such close relationships with the residents that they would invite them to their home for birthday celebrations.

“Such an upbringing was instrumental in shaping my slowly evolving identity centered on mission-driven causes and service towards those around me,” she said.

While working with a group of college students to help people who were living in poverty in a small town in Eastern Washington, Munson met a Native American woman who spoke about living with an abusive husband.Munson listened, and heard the woman’s story of feeling trapped as she had no resources and her dependence on her husband.

“At that moment, I was convinced that I desired to follow a life of service wherein one sought to address real human needs,” Munson said.About that time, she was invited to attend a national conference on raising awareness of human trafficking.Once again, Munson found that she was being drawn to helping stop crimes against humanity.

Munson realized that while she was at Shoreline it was important to impress upon other students the importance of getting involved helping others.Spending time with a lonely woman in a retirement home for the service-learning component of the class, “Road to the White House” sparked a deep desire to reach out to other students in a way that would touch them, too, at a personal level, and result in meaningful community service.She decided that the best way to reach students was to join student government as the Minister of Social Justice.

“I recognized that the job would empower me to further develop my leadership abilities, with a specific focus on expanding the availability of service-learning endeavors,” she said.

As Minister of Social Justice, Munson is a staunch advocate for student involvement in community-based learning and action. Munson models her values, co-founding a chapter of Amnesty International at the college. Membership has more than doubled in the chapter’s short existence.She also helped organize the first annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Day food drive, supported by the Ron Bell Leadership Fund. As a testament to her effectiveness, students helped gather more than 26,000 pounds of food for local food banks - 1,000 pounds more than the goal.Munson also works closely with the campus service-learning coordinator in the development of other human rights opportunities for students.

Munson is moving forward with her plans to work abroad, advocating for human rights as an international human rights lawyer.She is considering studying at the University of Cairo, majoring in Global Studies with a concentration in Middle Eastern studies.“You need to understand the culture before you can help,” she said.

Munson hasn’t decided where her educational next step will, but she has choices, having already been accepted to GeorgeWashingtonUniversity, the College of William and Mary and the University of Washington.After receiving her bachelor’s degree and before law school, Munson says she’s considering join the Peace Corps, hoping to work somewhere in the Middle East.

Although her studies currently top of her “To Do” list, making the world a better place is definitely the number one goal.

”She is humble and genuinely determined to make the world a better place,” Lawson said.“She is an inspiration to her fellow students, and frankly, to me as well.”

Larry Clarke has seen 40 of those as a faculty member and on Wednesday, March 17, 2010, his record and service were recognized by the Board of Trustees.

“Thanks for being the kind of person who makes a difference in my world,” are the words of one of Clarke’s student, read by Vice President for Academic Affairs John Backes as he introduced the sociology professor. “He always carries his responsibilities as a faculty member at the highest standard that any of us could meet. And, he does it every day.”

Backes said that when told of the planned honor, Clarke said, “I don’t want to be recognized. My teaching speaks for itself.”

Clarke has come a long way.

He started his life journey on the northern coast of South America, born in what was then called British Guiana, now the independent nation of Guyana. He went on to earn his bachelor’s degree from WilberforceUniversity, the oldest private, historically black university in the U.S., and then his master’s degree in community social work at WayneStateUniversity.Then, in the fall of 1969, when Nixon was a new President and the war in Vietnam was at its height, Larry joined the staff at ShorelineCommunity College, where he began his career teaching sociology.

Prof. Clarke’s life work has been one of understanding and acceptance and this philosophy carried over into the classroom.He has taught thousands of students the intricacies of social behavior and interaction and its relation to society as a whole.Many have said that they appreciate not only the knowledge and opportunity to expand their perceptions of the world and its people, but the fact that their instructor leads by example.

Comments from students include:

“This professor has been a mentor, an exemplary advisor and counselor to me.”

“Each time we meet, I leave with more knowledge.”

Over the years, Prof. Clarke has seen many of his students go on to get doctorate degrees in sociology and start their own careers teaching at the college level.

Clarke has given to the college in many other forms.In 1970, he helped found the college’s first Ethnic Studies Department, now called Intra-American Studies and he has always been very active on affirmative-action committees.He participated on hiring committees for the college president as well as faculty positions including criminal justice, philosophy and, of course, sociology and was a member of the Union Executive Board.

A colleague spoke to the personal side of Clarke:“One of Larry’s great gifts is friendship.He genuinely cares about and values people - and the political and social spectrum of people who call Larry a friend is remarkable.”

The Shoreline Community College Board of Trustees approved tenure for three faculty members at the March 17, 2010 meeting. Receiving tenure were:

Melinda Lane, Dental Hygiene

Claire Murata, Information Literacy Librarian

Cynthia Okawara, Academic Advisor

“These are three of the finest tenure candidates I’ve seen,” said Board Chair Roger Olstad, a former University of Washington faculty member. “I’ve had some experience with this (at the UW) and while the criteria differ, as they should, the rigor with which this institution approaches tenure is every bit as robust.”

SCC/Jim Hills

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